How Civilization Changes Our Bodies

There's a news story in the 4 May issue of Science about a conference presentation by Christopher Ruff from Johns Hopkins U. From measurements of 2000 European skeletons ranging in age to 30,000 years, he's deduced changes in body shape and size due mainly to lifestyle, rather than genetic change.

The biggest change is our legs have gotten skinnier and weaker. Cave men had booty.

Everyone got gradually shorter and skinnier over time (except the Vikings) but since 1900, we've grown back to the original height and weight range.

Pre-agricultural men had massive right arms. Apparently they didn't have to go to work, so they spent all day throwing spears. Riiiiigggggghhht. "Throwing spears."

The story has a few more details. Usually after a talk like this, the publication follows in a few months.

We can only speculate about how new trends in civilization will change bodies in the future...

MightyMouse87 saidAren't height and the propensity to put on weight determined by genetics though?

The propensity for height, yes. Actual height depends on a variety of "nurture" factors as well, like childhood diet, medical events during childhood, and childhood activity levels.

As exhibited by the big physical differences between North and South Koreans, lol. Ethnically the same people, but their environments and upbringings could not be more different from each other!

Speaking of North Korea... I knew the place was hellish, but this kind of freaked me out. Just think, by a quirk of Fate, any of us could have been born as a prison baby in that hell-hole. I truly hope Kim Jong Il is rotting in Hades. http://www.city-journal.org/2012/bc0525df.html

MightyMouse87 saidAren't height and the propensity to put on weight determined by genetics though?

The propensity for height, yes. Actual height depends on a variety of "nurture" factors as well, like childhood diet, medical events during childhood, and childhood activity levels.

As exhibited by the big physical differences between North and South Koreans, lol. Ethnically the same people, but their environments and upbringings could not be more different from each other!

Speaking of North Korea... I knew the place was hellish, but this kind of freaked me out. Just think, by a quirk of Fate, any of us could have been born as a prison baby in that hell-hole. I truly hope Kim Jong Il is rotting in Hades. http://www.city-journal.org/2012/bc0525df.html

And that's just it, most North Koreans who try to defect do it out of hunger and desperation. Famine has been widespread throughout North Korea since the '90s.

Refugees who make it to South Korea stick out like a sore thumb because they're much shorter and thinner than the average South Korean.